Protective helmet



June 1, 1965 R. E. CARLINI PROTECTIVE HELMET Filed June '7. 1962 ENTOR.Richard E. C grlz'zzz United States Patent 3,186,094, PRUTECTHVE HELMETRichard E. Carlini, 386 (Iumberland Parkway,

DesPlaines, Ill.-- 7 Filed June 7, 1962, Se No. 299,829

' 4 Claims. (Cl. 2-3) This invention relates to a protective helmet andmore particularly to a helmet for use by players of Americantypefootball.

As the sport of American football has advanced since its inception, theequipment used by players for their protection from injury has reached ahigh state of development. Initially, protective head covering was notused by the players in football. As the number of head injuriesincreased football helmets became an accepted item of equipment to thepoint that helmets are now required by most conference rules. Thefootball helmets, which were used priorto World War II, were primarily aleather cap with ear flaps. Later the helmets were improved to providewebbing in the helmet to give a greater degree of protection to thewearer. Subsequent to World War II a type of helmet was introduced whichhas a hard outer shell made of plastic with a web support mounted in theshell to space it from the wearers head. This particular type of helmetis now in common use by all major college and university football teams.

The present day plastic helmets give players a substantial degree ofprotection, but because of their hard outer shell, the players used thehelmets as battering rams. This particular use of the helmet by theplayers has caused a large number of head and spinal injuries to theplayers. The combination of the hard outer shell and the webbingsupport, though improved over the oldfashioned leather helmet, has notserved to reduce percentage-wise the number of head and spinal injuries.As a matter of fact, the percentage of head and spinal injuries hasincreased rather than decreased. It is therefore one of the principalobjects of the present invention to provide an improved protectivehelmet which provides a greater cushioning for a wearers head than thepresent popular hard plastic and web suspension helmet now in vogue.

It is another object of the instant invention to provide a protectivehelmet which will adequately protect the wearer from the shock of animpact and at the same time have an outer surface which minimizes thedanger of injury to other players.

It is a further object of the hereindisclosed invention to provide aprotective helmet which protects the wearer from shock and minimizesdanger of injury to other players and has a sufficiently rigid structureto receive and to position firmly face bars or other similar accessoriesto protect the wearers teeth and face from frontal injuries.

It is a still further object of this invention to provide a protectivehelmet which has a soft outer surface, an in termediate. hard shell andaplurality of air-filled suspension strips which engage a wearers headto protect the wearer from injury and provide a high degree of comfort,which helmet is simple to construct and relatively inexpensive toproduce.

Other objects and uses of the present invention will become readilyapparent to those skilled in the art upon a perusal of the followingspecification in light of the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevation of a players head shown in outline in ahelmet embodying the hereindisclosed invention with portions of thehelmet being broken away in FIGURE 1 with portions of the helmetseparated in order to show better the construction of the instanthelmet; and

FIGURE 3 is a cross-sectional view of the instant helmet taken on line33 of FIGURE 1.

Referring now to the drawing and especially to FIG- URE 1, an athleteshead generally shown in outline is shown with a protective helmet 10mounted thereon to illustrate how the helmet is worn. The helmet 10,which embodies the present invention, generally consists of aninflatable inner supporting liner 12 which is engageable with thewearers head, a rigid skeleton 14 which is engageable with the liner anda soft flexible resilient casing 16 which covers the skeleton 14.

The liner 12 is made up of a plurality of resilient tubes which act ascushions between the skeleton 14- and the wearers head. The liner has aperipheral tube 18 which defines the outer periphery of the liner. Acenter tube 20 has one end opening into the front portion of theperipheral tube 18 and the other end connected to the rear portion ofthe peripheral tube so that the center tube divides the liner into twohalves. Mounted in each of the halves of the liner is a doughnut tube 22which surrounds the ear of the wearer and is engageable with wearersskull and upper portion of the wearers jawbone. The doughnut tube 22also communicates with the peripheral tube. Eachv of the doughnut tubes22 is connected to the central tube 20 by means of a plurality of fingertubes 24. The finger tubes 24 extend radially outward from the doughnuttube and provide a passage for flow of a fluid between the central tubeand the doughnut tube.

As may be seen in FIGURE 2 the liner 12 has a valve 26 fitted into theperipheral tube. The valve 26 is a conventional valve and controls theflow of air in and out of the liner 12. Inasmuch as all of the tubes areinterconnected, it is readily apparent that the liner may be simplyinflated by applying air under pressure to valve 26 in a conventionalfashion.

As was mentioned above, the skeleton 14 is mounted in engagement withthe liner 12. The skeleton 14 con:

forms to the liner 12 so that all of the tubes in the liner are inengagement with the skeleton. The skeleton 14 has a peripheral guard 38which is engageable with the peripheral tube 18 and a center bar 40extends from the front portion of the skeleton to the rear portion todivide the skeleton 14 into two substantially equal halves. Each half ofthe skeleton has an arcuate portion or doughnut shield 42 which isengageable with a portion of its respective doughnut tube 2.2. In thecenter of each of the arcuate portions 42 is an ear aperture 44 whichalso provides ventilation to the interior of the helmet. A plurality ofribs 46 extend from the arcuate portion 42 to the center bar 46 toincrease the rigidity of the skeleton and each of the ribs 4-6 isengageable with its respective tubular finger 24 so that the tubularfingers provide cushioning between the wearers head and the ribs 46. Thespace between the ribs 46 provides a path for air to flow through thehelmet for ventilation. It is evident that the skeleton 14 issubstantially rigid and the material used in the manufacture of theskeleton is a suitable molded plastic of the same type which ispresently used for the manufacture of the outer shell of helmets.

The casing 16 is positioned over the skeleton 14 to provide a softexterior for the skeleton. The casing 16 is made of a foam polyester andany polyester is suitable for use as long as it is resilient and doesnot easily take a permanent deformation. The casing 16 conforms to theshape defined by the skeleton 14 and has a plurality of vent apertures48 which register with the spaces between the ribs 46 as may be clearlyseen in FIGURE 3. The

3 casing also has an ear aperture 50 on each side which ear apertures 50register with car apertures 44. The casing 16 is covered with a fabric52 which in this instance is a woven nylon to provide a vented thinmembrane. fabric serves to protect the casing from unnecessary abrasionand it also protects the casing from gouging by sharp objects such ascleats.

It is clear that a face bar 54 may be conveniently fixed to the instanthelmet in a conventional fashion. The face bar is fixed to the skeleton14 in a conventional fashion with the casing and fabric between the facebar and the skeleton. A chin strap 56 is also fixed to the helmet in thesame manner that the face bar is fixed to the helmet.

It may be seen that the instant helmet does not lend itself to ready useas a battering ram, in that'the outer surface or the helmet is soft, sothus the player is discouraged from using his head as a battering ramwhich is often the cause of severe head and spinal injuries.

A more important aspect of the instant protective helmet is that theinstant helmet has improved cushioning qualities. In experiments whichwere conducted with a helmet embodying the construction. describedherein and a conventional hard outer shell web supported helmet theinstant helmet had a 30% improved ability for absorbing the impact of aweight which was swung as a pendulum from a selected height.

It is evident from the construction that, when a force engages theprotective helmet, additional cushioning is achieved by the casing 15.Force is then transmitted to the skeleton and then a secondarycushioning is achieved by the inflated liner 12. Thus, there is a doublecushioning effect and an improved distribution of the force on thehelmet.

A further advantage of the instant helmet is the improved vcntilationwhich the present helmet provides. A common complaint regarding the hardshell molded plastic helmets is that the helmets are unduly hot becauseof the lack of ventilation. The instant construction provides for directventilation through the helmet so that the wearerss head does not becomeunduly hot. Furthermore, as the wearer participates in the game and hishelmet comes into use there is a pumping action through the helmet asthe tubes of the liner are periodically compressed and returned tonormal, so that air is pumped in and out of the helmet to provideadditional cooling. If it also readily apparent that it is not necessaryto have the player engage in contact in the game to achieve thiscooling. When the player runs, there is a slight bounce of the helmet onhis head which causes a pumping action to cool his head.

Although a specific embodiment of the hereindisclosed invention has beenshown and described in detaiil above, it is readily apparent that thoseskilled in the art may make various and sundry modifications, changesand alterations without departing from the spirit and scope of thepresent invention. It is to be expressely understood that the instantinvention is limited ony by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A protective helmet comprising, in combination, a vented resilientcasing; a rigid vented skeleton positioned within said casing; and aninflatable inner supporting liner for engagement with a wearers headpositioned in engagement with the interior of the skeleton to provide acushion between the Wearers head and the skeleton, said liner having aflexible peripheral tube, a center tube having one end connected to andcommunicating with a forward portion of the peripheral tube and theother end connected to and communicating with a rearward portion of theperipheral tube to divide the peripheral tube into two halves, a pair ofear doughnut tubes connected to and communicating with opposite sides ofthe peripheral tube,

The

4; and a plurality of finger tubes connected to and communicating withthe center tube and the doughnut tubes.

2. A protective helmet comprising, in combination, an inflatable innersupporting liner for engagement with a wearers head, said liner having aplurality of vents; a skeleton in engagement with the liner, saidskeleton having an outer peripheral guard in engagement with the liner,a center bar formed integral with the peripheral guard and in engagementwith the liner, a pair of doughnut shields formed integral with theperipheral guard and in engagement with the liner, and a plurality ofribs formed integral with the doughnut shields and the center bar and inengagement with the liner; and a resilient casing covering the skeleton,said casing being vented to allow air to pass therethrough.

3. A protective helmet comprising, in combination, an inflatable innersupporting liner for engagement with a wearers head, said liner having apair of doughnut tubes for surrounding a wearers ears, a peripheral tubeconnected to the doughnut tubes and defining the outer pcriphery of theliner, a center tube having opposed ends connected to the peripheraltube, and a plurality of finger tubes connected to each of the doughnuttubes and extending substantially radially therefrom and being conneetedto the center tube; a skeleton in engagement with the supporting liner,said skeleton being in engagement with each of the tubes of the liner;and a flexible resilient casing covering the skeleton to provide a softouter surface for the skeleton and to provide a soft protective helmet.

4. A protective helmet comprising, in combination; an inflatable innersupporting liner for engagement with a wearers head, said liner having aflexible peripheral tube, a center tube having one end connected to andcommunicating with a forward portion of the peripheral tube and theother end connected to and communicating with a rearward portion of theperipheral tube to divide the peripheral tube into two halves, a pair ofear doughnut tubes connected to and communicating with opposite sides ofthe peripheral tube, a plurality of finger tubes connected to andcommunicating with the center tube and the doughnut tubes, and a valvefor controlling the flow of fluid into the liner; a skeleton inengagement with the liner, said skeleton having an outer peripheralguard in engagement with the peripheral tube of the liner, a center barformed integral with the peripheral guard and in engagement with thecenter tube, a doughnut shield formed integral with the peripheral guardand in engagement with each of the doughnut tubes, each of said doughnutshields being formed integral with the peripheral guard, and a pluralityof ribs formed integral with the doughnut shields and the center bar; aresilient soft casing covering the skeleton; a fabric covering thecasing; a face guard fixed to the skeleton; and a chin strap fixed tothe skeleton for securing the helmet to a wearers head.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,072,321 9/13Fitch 23 1,868,926 7/32 Tatore et al. 23 2,296,335 9/42 Brady 232,618,780 11/52 Cushman 23 2,985,883 5/61 Marietta 29 FOREIGN PATENTS116,305 12/42 Australia. 848,011 9/60 Great Britain.

JORDAN FRANKLIN, Primary Examiner. DAVID J. WILLIAMOWSKY, Examiner.

1. A PROTECTIVE HELMET COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION, A VENTED RESILIENTCASING; A RIGID VENTED SKELETON POSITIONED WITHIN SAID CASING; AND ANINFLATABLE INNER SUPPORTING LINER FOR ENGAGEMENT WITH A WEARER''S HEADPOSITIONED IN ENGAGEMENT WITH THE INTERIOR OF THE SKELETON TO PROVIDE ACUSHION BETWEEN THE WEARER''S HEAD AND THE SKELETON, SAID LINER HAVING AFLEXIBLE PERIPHERAL TUBE, A CENTER TUBE HAVING ONE END CONNECTED TO ANDCOMMUNICATING WITH A FORWARD PORTION OF THE PERIPHERAL TUBE AND THEOTHER END CONNECTED TO AND COMMUNICATING WITH A REARWARD PORTION OF THEPERIPHERAL TUBE TO DIVIDE THE PERIPHERAL TUBE INTO TWO HALVES, A PAIR OFEAR DOUGHNUT TUBES CONNECTED TO AND COMMUNICATING WITH OPPOSITE SIDES OFTHE PERIPHERAL TUBE, AND A PLURALITY OF FINGER TUBES CONNECTED TO ANDCOMMUNICATING WITH THE CENTER TUBE AND THE DOUGHNUT TUBES.